The Letter
by Escape Through Dreams
Summary: You are on a mission to fulfill your grandma's dying wish. There are many you have to get through but you are determined, despite your fears, of finally meeting the one and only person who can help you complete a dying woman's wish. You only hope the outcome is that of happiness and not anger.


You let out a shaky breath, staring up at the building in front of you, starting to doubt your reasoning for coming. Some things are better left alone and maybe this would be one of them. Maybe you would just be doing more harm than good coming here. But then you think about your grandma and the last conversation you had with her before she passed away. This was her last wish, and it was something you had to do for her. Putting your worries and your fears aside, you take a deep breath and walk in.

"Excuse me?" You say softly to the man sitting at the front desk.

He looks up at you with a friendly smile, "Yes, do you have an appointment?"

"Um, no. But I was hoping to make one for today if at all possible."

He turns to his computer, "Okay, let's see, and what is it you are here for? Job?"

You take a deep breath before taking off you back pack and pulling out a very old box. You carefully open the box to pull out a letter and hand it to the man at the desk, "I'm here because of this."

He takes his time reading over the letter, careful not to tear the old paper. Once he finishes reading, he glances up at you with a raised eyebrow, "Is this legitimate? This isn't some kind of joke or forgery just to get in?"

You shake your head, "No Sir, I promise you, it is 100% authentic. My grandma gave it to me on her death bed. She had wanted to be here herself, but she was just too ill and confined to a hospital bed for the last year."

He turns his attention back to the letter, nodding his head. He closes it and hands it back to you before picking up the phone,

"Ms. Potts, there is a woman here who I think you should talk to… Yes, it is very important… Yes Ma'am, I understand. Yes Ma'am."

He hangs up, flashing you a gentle smile, "There is someone coming down to escort you to see Ms. Potts. I hope you get the answers you came looking for."

"Thank you. I hope I to do."

You place the letter back in the box and hold it close to your chest like it is the most precious thing in the world, and to you, it is.

"Ma'am, if you'll follow me, I will take you up to see Ms. Potts." A large man in black says, catching your attention.

You nod and walk behind him to the elevator. The ride up to the top floor is quiet, which is just what you would prefer, too nervous to say anything. You were sure that you wouldn't make it past the front door, and yet here you are actually getting to meet with Pepper Potts, the one woman who could help you get on the path that desperately need.

"Ms. Potts, here is…"

"Oh um, (L/N), (Y/N) (L/N)."

"Right, here is Ms. (L/N)."

"Thank you Richard. Ms. (L/N) please take a seat."

The red headed woman motions to a chair in front of her, smiling. Oddly, the smile makes her seem less scary than you imagined and it helps calm you slightly.

"So, what is it I can do for you Ms. (L/N)?"

With a shaky hand, you pass her the same letter that you showed the man down stairs,

"My grandmother gave me this letter on her death bed. She asked me to be the one to deliver it. It was written by her mother, my great-grandmother, but she had been too scared to send it back then. My grandma wanted to be the one to deliver it, but she suffered greatly from many different ailments and the last year of her life was spent in a hospital bed. She died last month and it took me this long to gather the courage to finally set about completing her final wish. I'm hoping that you can help me fulfill her wish."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm not sure how I could possible help." Pepper responds staring down at the letter in her hands, not yet reading it.

"If you'll read it, I promise you, you will understand how you can help."

"But it is a private,"

You cut her off with a laugh, "Oh no, it is not that private. Well, I guess it is, but my grandma said to show this to whoever I have to in order to get it to the person it was meant to go to. So please, read; I could tell you what it says, but I doubt you would believe me unless you see it for yourself."

Pepper nods, opening the letter and reading. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, praying that she will believe the content of the letter. Because if she doesn't you are doomed to never pass this letter on to its intended.

You watch her closely, observing her reaction to the words she is reading. You can see the tears welling up from the emotion of the letter; you were the same way the first time you read it. Actually, every time you read it, you are overcome with so many emotions you can't help but break down and cry. You can tell from her expression alone where in the letter she is, how her eyes go wide and how her eyes quickly dart between you and the paper.

"Is, is this real? You're great grandmother wrote this? Why did she not send it?"

"I can't answer that, my grandma never told me. I think it was because it was still too difficult for my great-grandma and she could handle the possible rejection. It could have also been because of the time, and she was ashamed of her circumstances. I don't know. But the opportunity has risen for the letter to reach someone who will be equally affected by the revelation as I was when I read it. I pray that it will do more good than harm, but if you would advise against it than…"

Pepper shakes her head, "No, you are right. This letter, this letter could change a lot of things and hopefully for the better. Though, I don't think it will be all smiles and happy tears to begin with."

She pushes her chair back, standing up, "Come with me. We are going to deliver a letter!"

You smile at Pepper and quickly follow after her.

You both enter her car and she gives the destination to the diver, "Well, we are going to be in this car for a little while. Please tell me what you do know."

You and Pepper spend the next three and a half hours talking, you telling her everything that you grandma had told you and with every bit of information you have to give, Pepper becomes even more convinced that this is just what is needed to heal the wounds of many.

Arriving at your destination, you can feel your nerve bubbling up once more. Pepper reaches over and takes your hand, "It'll be okay. I think this is something everyone might need."

You smile at her, "I hope you're right."

She shrugs. "I usually am. And in the event I am wrong, I turn it around so that I am right."

That gets you laughing, feeling at ease, "Okay. Thank you for this. Truly, I was worried that you wouldn't believe me and I didn't know where I would go had you sent me away laughing."

"Something like this is a once in a lifetime event, there is no way I couldn't believe it. Plus, I date Tony Stark, there is very little I haven't seen at this point that I don't believe anymore."

"You have a point there. But still, thank you for helping me."

You and Pepper leave the car, heading into the Avenger's compound. At the moment of your entrance the one and only Captain America comes strolling by,

"Pepper! What a lovely surprise. Tony didn't say anything about you coming over."

Pepper smiles at Steve, "This trip wasn't planned. Steve, I'd like for you to meet (Y/N) (L/N), she is the reason we are here."

Steve gives you a once over, with a single nod, "Ma'am."

You give him a small wave, "Captain."

"Actually Steve, you can help us, we are looking for Sergeant Barnes. Any idea where he is?" Pepper asks with her business face.

Steve cocks an eye brow, "Uh, yeah. He just finished a therapy session and is the common room. I was heading there now."

"Great. Will you take (Y/N) with you. I'm going to talk to Tony. Good luck (Y/N)."

Pepper turns and walks away leaving you and Steve awkwardly standing there.

"So uh, I guess if Pepper approves and thinks you are safe, come with me. Can I ask what it is you need Bucky for?"

"Um… well… maybe it would be easier if you were there when I talk to him."

"I was planning on it. I'm not leaving you alone with him. I respect Pepper, but I don't trust you."

You give a shrug, "That's fair. I wouldn't expect anything less honestly. I wouldn't trust me either if I was you. A strange woman shows up wanting to talk to a man who just recently was taken off the World's most wanted list. But, I mean no harm; I come as a wish to my grandma. She wanted to come herself but was unable to. So she sent me instead."

Steve only nods his head in response and continues walking ahead. You give an awkward smile, quickening your pace to keep up with his long strides.

"Bucky! Hey, how was your session?" Steve asks the dark haired man upon entering the common room.

Bucky is sprawled out on one of the sofa's watching television. He turns his head to grin at his best friend, "Pretty good. Doc says I've been doin' well, she's proud of me. Who's that Steve?"

"Oh this is…"

You step in front of Steve, a wide grin on your face, "I'm (Y/N) and it is so good to finally see you in person Mr. Barnes. I've dreamt about this moment for a long time."

Bucky sits up straight, a look of suspension on his face. You can tell his fighting instincts are kicking in, "Who are you and what do you want?" he demands, narrowing his eyes at you.

You try and lower your enthusiasm and give him a calming smile, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come on so in your face. My name is (Y/N) (L/N) and I heard a lot about you growing up. I don't know if you might remember, but you knew a member of my family before you went off to fight in the war. She left something for you, and that is actually why I am here."

You move towards Bucky, sitting next to him on the sofa and pass him the box you have been holding. "The letter will tell you everything."

Buck picks up the worn piece of paper that has yellowed with time. He is careful to open it and begins to read.

" _Dear Bucky… Or maybe I should call you James, Bucky seems to familiar._

 _James, I can't believe I am writing this, God, how I wish I wasn't having to write this letter. But here I am, I'm sorry if the words are smudged a bit, it's difficult to write this and not cry. Damn, I shouldn't have told you I was crying… why am I writing this like I'm talking to you face to face? Probably because it would be easier for me to say this if it was in person and not through letter. Though I doubt you will ever see this letter to begin with. Oh James, I hate you, I hate you so much. **You know I hate you, right?** I hate you for what you did to me; loving me so sweet and gently, treating me like I was the only woman in the world who mattered, making me love you with all my heart. Putting images in my head of us living happily ever after; living that white picket fence and 2.5 children dream. Only to take it all away with no warning, shattering those dreams and telling me that they would never happen. I hate you because I can't stop loving you and wishing for that dream to become a reality. _

_I know now why you did what you did and that lessened the hate… for a moment. But then the anger and hurt resurfaced with a vengeance. How could you?! How could you end what we had just because you are going off to war?! I would have waited for you Bucky… Actually, I probably will wait for, because I haven't stopped loving you Bucky and I hope you haven't stopped loving me either. I want us to be together when you get home Bucky. I want us to be a family…_

 _I'm pregnant Bucky. We're going to have a baby. I don't know if it is a boy or girl yet, but I want them and I already love them so much. And I hope when you get home, you will want us too, love them just as much as I do. I know you'll be a wonderful father to our child, Just please, come home to us… come home to me. Come home and win back me heart so I can stop hating you._

 _Love, Dot."_

Bucky chokes back a sob, finishing the letter, tears streaming down his face.

"Buck, what is it?" Steve asks concerned.

Bucky just shakes his head, looking to you, "This is real? Please tell me this isn't a joke? It has to be real, I remember he writing like it was yesterday and this is Dot's handwriting."

"Dot?" Steve questions only to be ignored once more.

"Why did she not send this to me? If she had then maybe…" his sentence trails off.

You reach over and take his hand in yours, "There are a lot of what if's in the world, but we will never know the answer to those what ifs, we can only torment ourselves thinking about all the possibilities that go along with those what ifs. So, please, don't go down that road. I didn't bring this letter to cause you pain. But to maybe, hopefully, bring you some kind of joy, happiness. Both of which you deserve after everything."

He stares at you in surprise, "You know?"

You nod, "Yes. After grandma showed me the letter, I needed answers. So I did research and it wasn't that difficult to find after SHIELD fell. Once you resurfaced Grandma and I wanted to find you right away, but she fell ill and it just was never the right time. I couldn't leave her alone. I wouldn't dare trust anyone else to care for her. I was all she had."

"Grandma? Your Grandma… my… she passed away? When? And what about your parents? Why didn't they help?"

"Last month, It was actually a blessing, she was in a lot of pain up until the end. And my parents, they helped some. Dad and Grandma didn't have the best of relationships. Towards the end, Dad tried, but it was hard for them both to repair what was broken in such a short amount of time. Mom and I tried to help them but, there was only so much we could do for them. I'm not sure what caused them to have a falling out, but it happened not long after I was born. Grandma told me I was the only thing that kept her from completely cutting Dad out of her life."

"What was her name?"

"Judith, though she went by Judy. Judith Barnes.

Bucky sits there is silence, listen to your every word and trying to digest the information he is being given. Dot had given their daughter his last name, she was a part of him. Steve looks back and forth between the two of you, growing frustrated with being kept in the dark,

"Will one of you tell me what in the world is going on?!" he shouts causing you to jump in surprise.

Bucky wipes his face and sits up straight, "Steve. I'd like you to meet my great-granddaughter."

"What? No that's not possible. Bucky this has got to be some sort of sick joke; you can't possibly believe this crap! How in the hell could you be a great-grandfather?"

You narrow your eyes at Steve, ticked off at his tone of voice. It is one thing to have doubt, but he is acting like a straight up asshole.

"Well, when a man and a woman get together, they have what is called sex… or in this day and age, they fuck, and when there is no protection like a condom or birth control, it usually results in a baby. Bucky and my great-grandma did the dirty and 7 and a half months later my grandma was born with 23 chromosomes from her dad and 23 from her mom. Then she had my dad and he married my mom and they had me. Thus Bucky's DNA is part of my DNA. Any other questions on the basics of biology jackass?" You explain with a smirk to Steve.

Bucky chuckles, raising an eyebrow at Steve, waiting to see how he responds.

Steve huffs, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off so rude. I just meant, how Bucky could be a great-grandpa, he wasn't with anyone before the war besides…"

"Dolores." Bucky finishes for Steve. "I broke things off with her before I went away for basic training. Making up some lie to try and get her to hate me. This is her letter, this is her handwriting. I've gotten most of my memories back, and I know this is Dot's writing. She died hating me because of what I did to her."

The dark hair man lowers his head, eyes glazing over as he is hit with a wave of memories and emotions. You place a gentle hand on his shoulder,

"Granny Dot didn't hate you Bucky. When Aunt Becca told her what happened to you, or what they thought happened to you, Granny Dot was heartbroken. Grandma told me that Granny Dot always held out hope that you would come back. She kept all the pictures and letters you wrote her. Grandma said that Granny Dot loved no other but you. I doubt that makes you feel better, but she didn't hate you. I promise you that. If you look in the box, you'll see that I'm telling the truth."

Steve backs out of the room, leaving you and Bucky to have your moment together, a family reunion that is a long time coming.

Bucky lets out a long breath, and opens up the old shoe box. There inside, it is filled with old pictures, mostly black and white. He picks up one, a picture of Dot and himself out of Coney Island, smiling like love struck fools and holding on to one another like they never want to let go. It was one of the last dates they had gone on before he broke things off with her to go to basic training. He is honestly surprised she kept it.

You smile seeing the picture Bucky is holding, "She loved that picture, kept it with her all the time. It was one of the first pictures she showed me of you."

"I remember this day; we had gone to Coney Island, just the two of us. She looked so beautiful and that day it was like something clicked and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I was starting plan the whole thing out… but then my letter came. I just couldn't put her through the pain of waiting for me or possible dealing with the news that I had died in battle. I thought it would be better if I broke up with her so she could find someone else to make her happy."

You give him a sad smile, laying your head on his arm. It was nice to hear the story from him having heard it from Granny Dot before she died.

Bucky picks up another picture. This one was of Dot with a young child about 5 or so, both of them in the park, smiling wide. "Is this…?'

You nod, "Yeah. That's my grandma when she was little, her 6th birthday I believe. Aunty Becca was the one who took this picture."

"Aunty Becca… you mean, my Rebecca?"

You smile, nodding, "Yeah. Granny Dot went to them after she heard that you had died and told them she was pregnant. They wanted to be a part of the baby's life. Said it was like having a part of you still with them."

Bucky chokes up, hearing you say that. He is happy that in the end, Dot was a part of his family, had the support of his family, like he had always wanted, even if he wasn't there to be with her.

"Dot, did she… did she ever…"

"Did she ever marry?" you ask for him.

He nods, swallowing hard as he waits for your answer.

You give a small shake of your head, "No. Grandma told me that Granny dated a little, but it never got serious. Just couldn't find the right person, is what she said. There was one man, one she met at the retirement home she lived at, they got pretty close. He was a sweet old man, and we saw him like family. But I think they were more companions than anything else."

"And your Grandma, she was happy right?"

"Yeah, had some hard times, but she always came out stronger in the end. She married her high school sweetheart, but they divorced after 5 years. She said they just got married too young, but it ended on fairly good terms. Didn't keep in touch, but it wasn't nasty. She then remarried my Grandpa Sal, they had my dad. My grandpa died in a car crash when my dad was 15 and I think that is was started the rift between my dad and Grandma, because what I can figure, Grandma and Grandpa had a fight and Grandma kicked him out of the house. He left and my dad blamed her saying that grandpa would still be alive if she hadn't kicked him out. It didn't help any when my Grandma started dating again and got married for the third time, Pop Frank. She actually passed away a month after he did."

You rummage through the box to find the right picture, "Ah, here. This was her about two years ago. She stopped letting us take pictures of her once her health stated to decline. She said she didn't want us to remember her that way."

Bucky looks at the picture of you and Judith, his daughter, smiling into the camera, observing how happy you look when he actually notices something.

"You're in a wedding gown."

You smile, nodded, "Yeah, this was taken on the day of my wedding. We've been together since college." You explain.

"Are you happy?" he asks, with a smile as though he can already know what you are going to say.

"Very. I would like for you to meet them, and the rest of the family… if you would like."

He looks down, letting his hair cover his face so you can't see his expression, "Would they even want to meet me? Knowing what I've done?"

"Bucky, you're family. We are going to want to be there for you… at least I will. I know what you did in the past and you are trying to make up for it. It wasn't your fault, the ones how controlled you, they are at fault. Not you. And I think our family would feel the same way."

Bucky smiles up at you, feeling like a weight has been lifted. It is one thing for the doctors and Steve to say that to him, but you are blood but yet a stranger. It seems more believable coming from you.

"Thank you (Y/N)… Thank you for finding me and giving me this. You've given me something I thought I would never have since I left for the war."

"You're welcome Bucky. Thank you for accepting me and accepting what I've told you as the truth. This is something I have wanted for a long time, so has my Grandma. I wish she could have been here to meet you, it was all she ever wanted, to meet you. But I know she is looking down on us right now, happy that her family is finally united."

Bucky can't hold himself back. He places the box to the side and pulls you into his arm, hugging you tight to him. You return his hug with just as much enthusiasm. You begin to laugh as tears fill your eyes, feeling overcome with joy. Finally you were able to accomplish your grandma's dying wish, you were able to find your great-grandfather, and tell him the truth that your great-grandma kept hidden for so long.

The two of you finally pull break the hold, laughing as you wipe your eyes, both crying from happiness. You continue going through the box of old pictures, you telling Bucky the story behind the ones you know and him telling you the ones he can remember. You couldn't imagine a better way to spend the day with the patriarch of your family and the man you had always looked up to, despite the horrors of his pass. Bucky Barnes, your great-grandfather, was finally being reunited with his family after nearly 80 years.


End file.
